NEW YORK -- Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp on Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, fewer than three weeks after it closed its mortgage lending business and was suspended by a federal agency.

The Ocala, Florida-based company, which was the nation's 12th-largest U.S. mortgage lender from January to June, filed for protection with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Jacksonville.

Taylor Bean has more than $1 billion of both assets and liabilities, and between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors, according to the bankruptcy petition.

Earlier this month, the Federal Housing Administration suspended Taylor Bean, citing its failure to submit a required annual financial report, its having "misrepresented" that it had no unresolved issues with its auditor, and "irregular transactions that raised concerns of fraud."

The suspension came after Taylor Bean's failed effort to invest $300 million in Colonial BancGroup Inc (CBCG.PK) to help keep the troubled Montgomery, Alabama-based lender afloat.

U.S. regulators seized Colonial's banking operations on August 14 and sold its assets to BB&T Corp (BBT.N), the Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based regional bank.

Taylor Bean made $17 billion of mortgage loans from January to June, for a 1.7 percent market share nationwide, according to the newsletter Inside Mortgage Finance.

It was not immediately clear how the company plans to reorganize or otherwise dispose of its assets. A lawyer for Taylor Bean did not immediately return a call seeking a comment.